Presser foot for cloth cutting machines



July 29, 1947. H. R. T. GILBERT 2,424,748

PRESSER FOOT FOR CLOTH CUTTING MACHINES Filed May 6. 19 44 Patented July 29, 1947 2,424,748 v I PRESSER FOOT FOR CLOTH CUTTING MACHINES Harry R. '1. Gilbert; Los Angeles, Calif.

Application May 6, 1944, Serial No. 534,505

This invention relates to a presser foot for cloth cutting machines and the like and more particularly to such a presser foot which may be placed in active contact on the work being cut without obstructing the vision of the operator.

In commercial cloth cutting a plurality of pieces of material are cut in stacks with the operator following a line drawn on the uppermost piece of material. A presser foot has been provided both to press down upon the pile of material and to act as a guard to protect the hands of the operator. However, heretofore such presser feet have generally been made of steel or other opaque substances and as a consequence when the cutting operation requires the operator to follow curved lines in order to obtain a complete field of vision it is common for the operator to lift the presser foot out of the way, pressing the material with the hand in close proximity to the knife and injuries to the operator have been common.

In order to overcome the aforementioned difficulties, it has been common to manufacture such metallic presser feet in narrow form so as to obstruct as little of the vision of the operator as possible with the consequent sacrifice of pressing area.

Accordingly it is one object of this invention to provide a presser foot of the type indicated in which said foot is manufactured of a transparent substance allowing a continuous and complete view of the work to the operator.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a substantially wider presser foot than heretofore possible in order to secure a broader pressing area.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a presser foot of the type indicated which is interchangeable with the presser feet now in use and which may, therefore, be installed upon existing machines without the necessity of any modification thereof.

In the accompany drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective elevation of a presser foot embodying my invention, showing its application to the work being cut and the knif in cutting operation;

Fig. 2 is a section taken upon the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of a modified form of my invention; and

Fig. 4 is a side view of the modification shown in Figure 3.

Referring more particularly to the drawings,

2 Claims. (01. 30275) I have shown a presser foot indicated generally at IU consisting of a presser or body member ll and an extension [2 thereof having a groove 3 for receiving the attaching bar M of the cloth cutting machine and a handle member Hi. The attaching bar I4 is secured to the presser foot in the groove l3 by means of a stud Hi.

In the exemplification shown in Figs. 1 and 2 the entire presser foot, including the presser body H and the extension [2, is manufactured from a transparent plastic material such a Lucite or the like.

In the modification shown in Figs. 3 and 4 a similar presser foot I (la having a presser area Ila is provided. The extension [2a, however, in this modification is formed of steel or other suitable material and has a pair of bifurcated arms I! attached to the presser portion Ila by means of rivets I 8. The arms I! are spread widely apart and curve around the advancing path of the knife in order to prevent obscuring the vision of the operator.

In both forms the presser portion ll or Ila contains a slot l9 which may lead to a bore 20 which are provided for accommodating the cutting knife 2|.

In both forms of the invention disclosed herein, the presser area Ha is extended laterally so as to form a wide contacting or pressing area which is designed to give sufiicient pressing action upon the cloth to avoid the necessity of the operator supplementing the pressure of the presser foot by means of his hand during the cutting operation. In practice, I have found that by reason of the transparency of my presser foot I am able to use such a foot of a width of 1 /2 to 2 inches or more, while the prior metallic presser feet were limited to a width of not exceeding to of an inch in order not to completely obscure the work being cut.

With either embodiment of the invention disclosed herein, substantially unobstructed vision is afforded to the operator during the cutting operation and there will be no necessity or incentive for raising the presser foot from contact with the work. Furthermore, the extended presser area afforded. by this invention will eliminate the necessity of the operators supplantin the pressure of the presser foot by means of his hand. It can, therefore, readily be seen that, in addition to providing an unobstructed vision to the operator, I have greatly reduced the possibility of injury or accident.

While the particular forms of the invention herein described are well adapted to carry out the objects of the invention, it is to be understood that various modifications and changes may be made without departing from the principles of the invention, and the invention includes all such modifications and changes as come within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A presser foot for cloth cutting machines, having a foot body, an aperture in said foot body for the reciprocation of a cutting knife and an attaching extension, said body being formed entirely of a transparent substance afiording substantially unobstructed view of the work bein cut during operation, said attaching extension comprisin a slotted member for attachment to an attaching bar of a cutting machine, a curved handle member, and a pair of arms secured to said presser body.

2. A presser foot for cloth cutting machines, having a foot body, an aperture in said foot body for the reciprocation of a cutting knife and an attaching extension, said body being formed entirely of a transparent substance affording substantially unobstructed view of the work being cut during operation, said attaching extension comprising a slotted member for attachment to an attaching bar of a cutting machine, a curved handle member, and a pair of arms secured to said presser body, said pair of arms curved'outwardly from the area in advance of the cutting knife.

HARRY R. T. GILBERT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,492,554 Colby May 6, 1924 1,299,536 Appelbaum Apr. 8, 1919 31,604 Hyde Mar. 5, 1861 1,934,190 Harker Nov. 7, 1933 

